DECONSTRUCTIVISM

BY,
FRANCY SHARON
 CONTENT

1. Introduction
2. Philosophy
3. Design characteristics
4. Layering
5. Angular
6. Organic
7. Chaos
8. Critiques
 INTRODUCTION
• Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture appeared in the 1980s, which gives the
impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building.
• It is characterized by an absence of harmony, continuity, or symmetry
• Architects: Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Bernard
Tschumi, and Coop Himmelb.
• It is characterized by fragmentation, and interest in manipulating a structure's surface or skin
through transform the basic Volumes of architecture (Cube, Cuboid, Pyramid & sphere) in order to
recombine it in a new hybrid shapes.
• Deconstructivism rejected the
postmodern acceptance of
historic references and the
idea of ornamentation.

• It attempts to move away from

constricting rules of
modernism such as:
 PHILOSOPHY
• Deconstruction is theory and philosophy of
language derived principally from Jacques
Derrida’s 1967 work of grammatology.
• The clearest explanation to Jacques thinking
was found to difficult but it is fundamental to
Derrida’s extraordinary view of the world that
nothing has much meaning anyway.

• That’s why he struggles so hard to communicate with us,

he acutually intends it to be difficult for us to find out what he
says, if he has anything to say at all !
• Many attempts to explain or to analyze deconstruction
have been violently rebutted on the grounds that such
approaches violate the very nature of deconstruction.
• Deconstruction is literally concerned -as Derrida insists- with written texts.
• His attacks are especially focused on subjects such as:
1. Metaphysics
2. Clarity
3. Logocentrism
4. Meaning
5. Feeling
6. Binary Thinking
7. Phonocentrism
8. Palimpsest
METAPHYSICS:
• Is the age old search for ‘’truth’’ and the “essence of being” that has been the centre of occidental
philosophy.
• Derria depise this search through centuries for ultimate truth, reason od existence & idea of
absolute knowledge or God.
• In architecture there in no one best way, no InternatIonal style, no roots from which all
architecture has grown.
CLARITY:
• Is simply, directly, clearly and unambiguously.
• Derrida is a part of the post - structurlist movement that strongly reacted against clarity.
LOGOCENTRISM:
• Analyzing the structure of our language - it is what allows us to think, to unveil the
structure of our thoughts and thus arrive at those “ultimate truths”
• Derrida despise logocentricism and even rejects the relationship between a word
and its meaning. That is why it makes so difficult for us to understand him.
• He wants wants words to literally have no meaning.
MEANING:
• The denial meaning from Derrida was taken by Deconstructivist architects and
translated as an architecture of pure “syntax” without any “ semantic “ meaning.

FEELINGS:
• When it comes to Eisenman buildings, he creates a really disturbing
spacing completely dislocated and everytime you dont know where
you are or what level you are.
DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS
GENERAL CHARACTERISTS:
• No physically pure basic volume.
• Frangmented mass.
• New material (metals, glass, concrete)
• Complicated structure, and advanced structural systems.
• Relatively high void percentage.
• Open plan.
• Distinguishing from context.
 LAYERING
• Based on fragmenting pure basic volumes into vertical & horizonatal planes which creates different
layers.

NOTABLE ARCHITECT:
• Richard Meier

Lines: straight, parallel Corners: right angles Openings: by subtraction Articulation: through
and arch & addition layers& masses
 ANGULAR
ANGULAR:
• Essentially consists of complicated composition of hybrid volumes with acute angles.

NOTABLE ARCHITECT:
Daniel Libeskind.

Opening mainly through

Straight non parallel lines Corners: acute angles
subtraction
 ORGANIC
ORGANIC:
• Consists of complicated sculptured volumes with curvy lines

NOTABLE ARCHITECT:
Dame Zaha MohammaD Hadid

Lines : curvy lines.

No corners but curves. Articulation: sculpturing
 CHAOS
CHAOS:
• Consists of complicated composition of hybrid volumes with wide variety of lines and angles

NOTABLE ARCHITECTS:
Frank Gehry .

Both straight & curvy Corners: both right & acute

lines Articulation: through relation between
angles & curves masses.
 CRITIQUES
• It is possible to find a column in the dining unnecessarily or a weapon of iron and glass cutter roof of the
building without a cause functional convincing except for the art form outside.

• Abandonment of cultural heritage of civilization.

• Architectural elements are replaced with sharp elements and vehicle shocking to the eye.

• Difficult to understand for the general public.

• We need to understand catalog of ideas
• Building crackers, assymmetry and non- consistancy